Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1887-09-15
FOLLIES OF FOLJAMBE.
BY THOMAS puxN ENGLISH.

l0AAe
II we trust general opinion, it was a
series oil follies. beginning in boyhood
and continuing during life. James
Foliambe-"Fool Jim," as the boys
nicknamed him at schocl-and the
epithet chung to him-did, in popular
Judgment, the most silly things, and
yet prospered. At school he was
noted for his folly, as well as for pluck
and GOODNESS. If big boy maltreated
a little one, instead OF minding his own
business, as a sensible boy should,
Fool Jim would take it up and thrash
the bully.
When that wretched little Dick
Greene, the son of old Corney Greene,
a sort CT odd-jobb man about town,
broke his leg by a fall from a cherry
tree, Fool Jim used to go around and
cheer up the little brat. and spend his
pocket money, of which ne had plenty,
Tor Dicks benefit. All the leading big
boys OF theschool thought him a fool,
but no one dared to tell him so, for,
though he was not quarrelsome, he
was quick to resent an insult, and
was a tough customer in a rough and
tumble fight.
h'oliarnble left school for an acade-
my where they prepared boys for col
lese, and went afterward to college.
l left at the same time to become un.
der-salesman and general drudge in
the grocery shop OF Eggs & oalchieze.
| lost sight of him then, except at va
cations. until he was graduated, and
had come home. His father, a O N.
hrmed invalid, was very rich, and
made Il great fuss over him when he
returned. and was very proud of the
tact that Jim was at the head of his
class There was no nonsense about
Jim, ] must say. He remembered all
his old schoolmstes, and put on no
alrs. He would come into our shop
at all times and talk with me when /
was not busy, and, as he would be
very rich IN time, old Figs, though
he did keep his peoples noses close to
the grlndstone, never grumbled at 1t.
Not that Jim was an idler. He
took q vast deal of his sickly fathers
hands in managing the large planta-
ton. No little job that was, either.
toilambe place embraced over nine
teen hundred acres, and with the ex-
ception of a hundred acres OF wood.
land, and about three hundred OF
pasture and meadow, was closely eul-
tivated. There was q fine herd OF
Jersey cattle, then coming into vogue,
and over forty blooded horses, besides
Others for plough aud wagon.
For four years there was nothing
worthy of note, except that / got to
be head salesman and a sort of gener-
al manager in our concern, which,
considering my age. was a big lift for
me. But old Foljambe died at this
time, and as James was motherless,
and an only son, he succeeded to the
property. Then began the follies OF
this son, which made talk for the
country around for years.
The first exhibition was in the mat
ter of the Peabody mortgage.
There had been two Peabody broth
ers, Nathan and David; but David,
the younger one, on his fathers death
had taken one thousand dollars in
cash for his share. and gone off to
Mexico to seek Misfortune. He wasnot
beard OF afterward, and was believed
to be dead. Nathan stayed on the old
place. He was a shIftless man, and
though he married Ben Merits
daughter, who was a tidy housewife
aud a prudent woman, he could not
get along. The farm was pretty well
worn out and he and not improve it
at all. The crops grew less and less,
and Nathan drew a crop OF debts. To
wipe that out, be borrowed another
thousand dollars on bond and mort
gage from the same party who held
the first mortgage given to raise
Dayids money. Things grew worse
and worse, and at last the interest
remained unpaid for two years, and
proceedings were taken toforeclose the
mortgage. Nathan took sick over it
and lied. The doctor said it was the
typhoid fever. but every one thought
it was the trouble, and that Nathan
had given up the ghost because he
could not face his difficulties. At all
events he died, leaving his widow with
one child, a Girl OF fourteen. She was
very pretty-the image of her father
and all the Peabodys were fine look.
ing people; but she had her mothers
ways.
Everybody pitied the widow, for it
was well understood that the farm
,@.,ll Irt-, No paapa than tho debit
and law expenses; in fact, that the
mortgage would be obliged to buy it
in. With the exception OF one spot,
the farm was q worn.out sandy loan,
over-run with sedgegrass, the sign Of
sterility. The exception was a hill,
covering about forty-two acres, ap.
parently composed OF a tough, gray.
ely clay, unfit for even brick-making,
and incapable of cultivation. To be
sure, the five acres around the house,
which was at one end ofthe place, had
been used as a vegetable garden, and
that was in a little better order. II
was q sorry piece of property. So
/ when sale day came, and | happened
to be over at the county town, | drop,
ped into the courthouse where the
Sheriff was to sell. | found only a
half dozen persons, and one OF these
was Foljambe, and another wasPhipps
who held the mortgage.
The sheriff, stating that every one
knew the place, which han been with
| the Peabodys for overa hundred years,
asked for a bid. The amount against
the property, including the legal costs,
was twenty-three hundred and eighty.
four dollars. Phipps put that in as a
bid, but remarked he didn't want it
at any price, and any n advancing
on that might have it.
'sThat leaves nothing for the wild
ow," observed Foljambe.
.fSuppose you bid more, then, on
her account said Phipps.
81 SHALL" replied Foljambe; thirty.
five hundrad dollars"
as that your bid Mr.. Foliambe2"
inquired the sheriff.
"That is my bid, sir"
So the farm was knocked down to
him. When We were coming away
Foljambe said to me:
Cooley, you go past the Peabody
Farm on your way home. l wish
you'd stop and tell Mrs. Peabody that
the place has brought over twelve hun.
dred dollars more than the debt, and
she must take out letters OF admins
tration. And tell her for me not to
think of moving. She can have the
house and the garden around 1t Tree
of rent. She's a thrifty woman and
with that start she'll get along.
felt that Foljambe,s conduct was
through an impulse OF generosity
which he could we'll afford. But the
general verdict was that he was fool
Had he bid q hundred over Phippsl
or even two hundred, it might have
.a.nd b,tfo throw away-abSOiute.